Traverse (Tim)

[Tikobe]

"And great to meet ya, too!"

William walks down the halls of the Magellan with you. He's a very friendly man, which was odd, as he explained that he's had 20 years of experience working maintenance on spaceships. There was a reason why there was such a high demand for maintenance crews for spaceships over spacestations and planetary spaceports, and you knew it first hand, having worked on them before: The risk is so far much more higher and the reward far lower. Despite the demand, no one was willing to pay a lot to men who were probably gonna die or receive injuries so severe they couldn't work again, and that happened a lot on spaceships where the gear was often criminally outdated. It's rare for a man, especially when they worked numerous times managing the crews, having not to worry about theirselves but their whole crew, to come out happy. And the pay on the Magellan would be the worst yet: No one would get paid until the Magellan returns to Keeper space, assuming that it ever does. Odds are most likely that only a few at best would ever get to leave. The best hope would be for you and your brother, and maybe Andrea if her story was true. Additionally, the crew was expected to provide it's own life insurance, and even you lost that a few days ago when it came out about your new position. You still haven't found a company willing to insure you.

Eventually you meet the docking bay, and the doors open to the halls of the Bashrek. In there have to be at least eleven maintenance crew members. Outside the Bashrek are a small number of Schall dock workers, as well as a Schall female in very high class clothing. You recognize her as being the Prime Governess of the entire Schallan race, Treshmalle.

"Good evening, captain. I figured I would be here when you arrived," she smiles.

[Bannanachair]

"Good evening," I say to the Governess, "You'll have to excuse my curtness, but I would like to arrive at Avesh-8 as quickly as possible, and as such I'd like to take off as quickly as possible."

[Tikobe]

Treshmalle smiles, "Ah, but captain! It is, what was it? Time for you humans to have lunch. You might as well splurge for your last one!"

She obviously has no intention of giving up. Besides, it could help for her to be away if something were to happen with Andrea.

William keeps on walking and begin talking to some Schall, obviously the local head of maintenance. At least he's getting to work.

[Bannanachair]

I hesitate for a second, before deciding to take her up on her offer. "I might as well, I suppose." I get that they wanted to use such a powerful technomancer as Andrea Weber as a weapon, but why on this mission, why without giving me more than thirty seconds of prior warning and why would they also plan a stopover with the Schall! It almost seems as though my superiors, significantly more isolationist than I am, are trying to sabotage this mission - and maybe they are, but I won't let them win if that is indeed the case.

[Tikobe]

"Very well. If you'd come this way."

Prime Governess Treshmalle leads you down the station until you arrive at a fancy high class diner named...

Joe's? It seems that the Schall value a burger joint as fine exotic eating. Well, to an alien race, it might as well be. The menu is all earth food; it would seem that Treshmalle is trying to appeal to you for something.

The server comes and leaves having taken your orders, and the Prime Governess looks to you and asks, "So, how are you feeling about this whole thing?"

[Bannanachair]

"I'll make no secret of my politics and say outright that for quite a while I was one of the most vocal proponents of becoming less isolationist, even though I was never in much of a position to implement this on my own. Clearly I managed to convince someone with more clout than I had, and so I'll consider the fact that this mission exists a political victory on my part."

[Tikobe]

"Oh good. But I say you should be more concerned about this than proud. It's basically self-imposed exile. Actually, looking at the dossiers for your crew, it's self-imposed for only half of the crew. A good example is this one girl on your ship... Ah, let's see... Oh yes! She was slated for death row and someone kept her alive! And now they've secretly smuggled her onto your ship. And her name was... Oh what was her name?" she says, dragging it out as long as possible. "Oh yes! Miranda Lisa Greengrove! You should be careful of people like those. You could really piss someone off with that kind of a crew."

She's toying with you. For what, well, nothing's confirmed but usually if it quacks it's a duck. She's also probably doing it in front of a few hidden recorders as well.

[Bannanachair]

"I don't mind the self-imposed exile. I needed a change in scenery for personal reasons anyway. As for Lieutenant Greengrove, I have read her files and do indeed find them interesting, but if my superiors have assigned her to my ship, or gave her clearance for her to volunteer for this mission, I am certain that they have a reason for doing so."

[Tikobe]

The Governess looked down for a moment, a momentary look of disappointment on her face before she returned to you.

"And, if that reason is wrong? If she did something so bad that she really deserved to die? You've gotten to this point because you questioned KOMC once, so surely you of all people can see the problem that hosting uh... politically inconvenient persons can cause even if it was the wish of your superiors. It wouldn't be all that hard for some factions to destroy your ship and make it seem like an accident, after all."

[Bannanachair]

"Let's say I do go against their orders and kill Miranda as you are proposing that I do. Then what? I had this mission greenlighted on the condition that I take whatever crew is assigned to me, not to mention that I'd be killing an officer. That would basically be treason - it would be just as treasonous as if someone were to actively fire on in an attempt to destroy a KOMC ship."

[Tikobe]

"I was never telling you to kill Miranda, or anyone else who might be a security risk. I'm just saying you should tell the people they pissed off that they're a part of your crew. It's not hard to sneak people into the right and just hands. As to shooting them down, well frankly, you'd be surprised what you can get away with. Just a little influence and a good piece of blackmail such as that person was alive and you could get away with it if it wasn't done by anything noticeable."

[Bannanachair]

"One theoretically could do something of that sort, but even if there would be no formal repercussions, that would very much invite a similarly covert response from those in disagreement with those actions." As I say this, I take a quick glance at my watch. As soon as I can say that I have to leave so as not to be late without seeming like I'm dodging the conversation I will take that opportunity.

[Tikobe]

"Believe it or not, the side of the unjust is cowardly. They don't have the guts to bite back. Don't be unjust."

"Alright, here's your meal!" the waiter says, giving you both your food.

You still had plenty of time before you needed to return to the ship, and the fact that the Prime Governess sat in front of a clock which reminded you of this was probably, okay definitely, not a coincidence. She certainly plays politics and intrigue hard.

She doesn't continue the conversation until you're both done eating, where she says, "Alright, well that was fun. I hope you remember what I said, captain. I'll be there when your ship takes off."

[Bannanachair]

"Thank you for the meal. My sincerest compliments to the chef; I doubt I'll be eating human cuisine for a while." At that, stand up, push my chair in, and begin walking back to the ship. Upon arriving at the ship I look around for William.

[Tikobe]

You see William coordinating the crew with the Schall maintenance manager. He turns his head to you, "Oh hey, captain! Almost done loading the cargo in. Should take too much longer, we're just tossing it into the cargo bay for now. Thankfully, the Schall here already got everything all organized. Only work we gotta do once it's in is figure out how the cargo in the bay is organized. I wasn't briefed how the other manager wanted it, and she was here first so..."

[Bannanachair]

"I want you to check every single crate for bombs or any sign of sabotage before we take off. Call it a gut feeling, but I have a really bad feeling about something."

[Tikobe]

"What?" William said in disbelief. "Captain, I can assure you, those crates are safe. The Schall already had them checked. And if you're trying to suggest that they planted a bomb, well that's preposterous. The Schall don't use bombs. They don't even use missiles, it's against their religion, and has been for the past two millennia. Look, I'll send the order, but that's gonna piss off the boys, it's gonna piss off the Schall since we're implying that they, a really prideful people, didn't take proper security measure, and it's gonna piss off the Keepers because you had us do it just when you got back from a dinner with the Prime Governess. Look, I've been in situations like this, and trust me you don't want to either."

[Bannanachair]

"Then do it discreetly. Say that your captain's an idiot who wants to unnecessarily double-check the contents of every crate. If I'm wrong I'll take full blame for this political faux pas, and if I'm right then I've saved the entire mission."

(I don't actually know what the Schall are planning, but I reckon if you want it to look like an accident it's best to do it from within the ship rather than by launching a couple missiles at the ship.)

[Tikobe]

(Won't say what they're gonna do, only that you're moving along a good line.)

William shoots a nervous glance at the Schall in the distance away.

"Look, if you want this lowkey, take off from the station first. Say we're having issues with the magnetic latch for the slingshot, I mean we don't expect to ever be using that after we leave this system so we can make a claim they got us a defective latch and that should buy us enough time for a thorough checkup. If you really want, after we close the door I can get the crew together to scan the crates with bomb detectors. I don't want you to get in trouble, and more importantly me and my boys in trouble."

[Bannanachair]

"That might work," I say. "Let's hope that I'm just being paranoid, but, for some reasons that you don't have clearance to know, I am fearing that this may very well be the case."

[Tikobe]

"Clearance? Of course! Me and my crew, the lifeblood of this ship, gonna get shot at or blown up for reasons we're not allowed to know. Fun times, fun times."

A little later, William confirms there's no bomb and while you guys take off to space William orders a checkup on the crates. As the Magellan pulls out of the Bashrek you see a video of the ship's rear camera, where Treshmalle was standing, obviously quite content with herself. Later on, as if on que, just before you latch on you receive a call from Will about the "malfunction." Evidently he's not intent on letting the rest of the crew on this, he probably figures that's your job.

"Uh, captain," Kem says, "Prime Governess Treshmalle of the Schall sending us a transmission. She's wanting to know what's going on. Put you through to her?"

[Bannanachair]

"Yes, put me through," I say. Thank god there was actually no sabotage.

[Tikobe]

"Captain! You've been staying put for the last minute. I wanted to make sure everything was okay," the Governess says.

"My apologies, but we had a failure with our latch. Got it fixed though," Will said as he walking onto the command deck smiling. Obviously, he had found nothing.

"Really? You got fixed?"

"Indeed."

"Are you sure?" Treshmalle inquire with a deep, almost glare-like gaze.

"Absolutely!"

"Very good," Treshmalle says in a bit of daze. "Well, best of luck, captain."

[Bannanachair]

"Thank you," I say, and then I reach for the shipwide communication announcement thing. "Everyone, this is your captain. Please standby for faster-than-light travel." After that, I tell the pilot to jump to Avesh-8.

[Tikobe]

"Of course! Out we-"

Before Howard could finish, the lights on the ship black out, and so did the screens.

"What was that?" Howard asked.

"It was the jammers," a man in a very nice suit says as he walks in. "If you check, you'll find that the latches are now actually out. As well as the majority of the ship's weapons."

"It's true. I'm reading three frontal turrets and a single laser are active. Right now we're just barely more armed than a fighter," the Themali at the weapons station says.

"Of course it's true. Just as true as the fact that a signal has just been broadcasted from this ship to two Schallan fighters in hiding who have orders to shoot us down as discreetly as they can," the man begins.

"How did you know about this?" Miranda asks.

"I have some friends in very high places, and news travels fast in those kinds of circles. One of those friends tipped me off that the Schall know a small, little secret about this ship, and was even able to figure out their method of attack."

"Alright, but who the hell are you!?" Henry asks him.

"Drake Combs. I'm the information desk guy. The other one, that is."